The No. 16 University of Redlands men's water polo team
won three straight games despite falling to fifth-seeded No. 15
Santa Clara University in its opening game of the Western Water
Polo Association (WWPA) Championships on Friday to ensure a
fifth-place finish in the three-day postseason tournament.
The championship tournament, which took place at Claremont
Mudd-Scripps Colleges from Nov. 21-23, included a 10-team field:
No. 8 Loyola Marymount University, No. 9 UC San Diego, No. 11 UC
Davis, Redlands, Santa Clara, the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Academy
(CO), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Chapman
University and UC Santa Cruz.
A three-goal effort by senior driver Andrew Becskehazy (Miami, FL)
on Friday fell just short of lifting the Bulldogs over Santa Clara.
Redlands led 7-6 at the half, but the Broncos netted four
second-half goals to the maroon and gray's two to edge
Redlands 10-9 in the first-round matchup.
Becskehazy led the way again in Redlands' second game, which
took place on Saturday, but this time, the Bulldogs prevailed,
crushing UC Santa Cruz by a 13-5 final.
Redlands defeated the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (SCIAC) champions, Pomona-Pitzer, with ease in its
second contest on Saturday, advancing to the fifth-place game after
winning 11-5.
Sunday's game against Air Force featured a high offensive
output from both teams, and the score was knotted at 10 at the end
of regulation. The Bulldogs scored three goals to the
Falcons' one in the first overtime period, giving Redlands
the 13-11 win. Senior utility player Buddy Olds (Murrieta, CA)
finished out his collegiate water polo career playing the role of
the hero, scoring a team-high three goals.
Becskehazy wrote a storybook ending to an illustrious Bulldog water
polo career, leading the team in its four games with nine goals.
Junior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) scored seven goals
while Olds and sophomore defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis,
MD) compiled six apiece to supplement Becskehazy's offensive
success. Also scoring for Redlands were senior defender Jon Rielly
(Vista, CA), sophomore center Miran Terzic (Mostar, Bosna i
Hercegovina), junior utility player Brent Dotters (Porterville, CA)
with three, junior driver Taylor Swyers (St. Louis, MO), senior
utility player Jim Kehrig (Danville, CA), junior defender John
Floersch (San Jose, CA) and junior utility player Ian Starkie
(Arroyo Grande, CA) with two and junior center Ben Taylor
(Porterville, CA) with one.
In goal, senior goalkeeper Teddy Trowbridge (Mercer Island, WA)
saved a team-high 18 shots while junior goalkeeper Jack Amaral
(Porterville, CA) also saw action between the posts and tallied 11
saves.
Redlands closed out its excellent season with a 29-9 record,
including a 9-1 mark in conference games.
